Namibian cyclist Erik Hoffmann has been in great form in Germany recently, winning two events in Baden Wurtemburg in southern Germany over the past month. Last Saturday Hoffmann won the Durach Criterium over 90km when he beat professional cyclist Sebastian Baldauf of the Milram team in a sprint to the line.
On the last two rounds of the criterium Hoffmann and Baldauf broke away from the leading peleton and after a final sprint they crossed the finish line within a hair’s breadth of each other. After the judges conferred, Hoffmann was declared the winner.
Hoffmann’s latest victory came hot on the heels of his scintillating form at the Baden Wurtemburg Championships in May, where he won the Time Trial event to claim the Baden Wurtemburg champion title.
He narrowly missed out on another gold medal when he finished second in the Baden Wurtemburg Road Race.
On June 7, Hoffmann put up a great performance against some top professional riders, to finish second at the Hohenheimer Schlossrennen.
The race was won by one of Germany’s top professional cyclists, Jens Voigt of Team Saxo Bank, and included other prominent professional cyclists like Eric Bauman, Sebastian Frei and Leif Lampater.
Hoffmann is currently racing as an individual after he parted ways with his Giant Asia Racing Team at the end of last year. Hoffmann is currently completing his studies in Stuttgart in engineering and hopes to ride professionally again in 2010.
In 2008 he finished 22nd in the cycling road race at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China and won the Namibia Sportsman of the Year award.